Maratha Activist Manoj Jarange Launches Hunger Strike Over Kunbi Certificates

Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange began an indefinite hunger strike on Saturday at Antarwali Sarati in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. Jarange is demanding the issuance of Kunbi certificates for all 58 lakh applicants whose records were verified, including those whose applications were previously rejected during the caste scrutiny process. He has further demanded the elimination of the caste verification committee, arguing that the process is used to arbitrarily reject valid claims.

Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil met with officials and visited the area to discuss the matter. According to the Minister, the government has issued certificates to those who applied and only 0.3 percent of applications have been rejected. State government data provided to Jarange indicates that out of 1,431,634 applicants as of August 24, 1,424,634 received certificates, while 1,747 remain pending and 5,248 were rejected. The Minister stated that applicants with proper documentation should submit their claims to district collectors within eight days for priority processing.

Jarange has accused Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of holding a grudge against the Maratha community and alleged that Deputy CM Eknath Shinde is providing covert support to this bias. He threatened to march to the Chief Minister's residence, Varsha Bungalow, if the government fails to resolve the quota issues. In support of the agitation, local organizations are organizing a rally of one thousand rickshaws from the Dharashiv district.

Reporting on the event varied by political lean. Center-right framing focused on Jarange's personal accusations of a grudge against government leadership and his claims of systemic bias. Center-left framing emphasized the specific administrative data regarding application numbers and the government's procedural response. Center framing highlighted the decisive nature of the fast and its direct target, Devendra Fadnavis.